A processing apparatus such as a plasma processing apparatus includes a processing chamber where a processing target substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal substrate is processed. The components disposed within the processing chamber include consumable components that become gradually worn as the processing apparatus is repeatedly engaged in operation to execute various types of processing under specific processing conditions (based upon a process recipe, a cleaning recipe and the like) within the processing chamber. For instance, such consumable components in a plasma processing apparatus include a shield ring, a focus ring and the like disposed around the area where the processing target substrate is placed as well as an electrode plate of an upper electrode to which high-frequency power is applied. The processing characteristics with which a semiconductor wafer or the like is processed may be affected when such consumable components become worn to certain extents. For this reason, the consumable components need to be replaced with specific timing.
A consumable component becomes worn substantially in proportion to its utilization status (e.g., the length of time over which it has been utilized or the number of times it has been utilized). Accordingly, the extent of wear of the consumable component is estimated in the related art based upon a cumulative value representing the utilization status of the consumable component. For instance, the extent of wear of the consumable component is estimated based upon the length of time over which high-frequency power has been discharged to be applied to the electrode plate (RF discharge time) measured as the utilization time, i.e., the time over which the consumable component has been utilized, and once the RF discharge time exceeds a predetermined threshold value, an alarm is generated automatically or a consumable component replacement instruction is automatically issued so as to achieve optimal consumable component management (see, for instance, patent reference literatures 1 and 2).    (Patent reference literature 1) Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H11-121194    (Patent reference literature 2) Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2003-031456